Capital Gains Manual

Absolute entitlement: part of trust fund: Trustees' power of appropriation

If the trustees have an express power to decide which assets should go to a beneficiary in satisfaction of his or her beneficial interest, no beneficiary should be regarded as having become absolutely entitled to the appropriate share of any such assets until the last contingency is fulfilled. For these purposes the statutory power of appropriation given to personal representatives should be disregarded because it no longer applies once the administration of the estate is completed and they then hold as trustees rather than as personal representatives.